Specialized Sawtooth 2Bliss Ready 650B

Choosing a tyre for adventurous and off-road riding is getting easier all the time with a rush of new models being launched in recent years. The Specialized Sawtooth is a good choice for mixing road and dirt/gravel tracks, with a good balance of grip and rolling resistance, and the necessary toughness to survive tough trail conditions.

• Pros: Fast on a range of surfaces, reasonably priced, easy tubeless installation
• Cons: Not so good in the mud

The Sawtooth isn't a new tyre as such, but what is new is the 650B size option tested here. It's previously been available in 38 and 42mm widths for 700C sizes and has been specced on several Specialized bikes for a number of years. With 650B hot right now, these 42mm wide tyres look a good choice for those interested in the smaller wheel size.

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Aside from the size difference, they use the same 120tpi (threads per inch) casing construction with BlackBelt puncture protection and the same Gripton compound, also used for Specialized's road racing tyres. It's a folding bead tyre with tubeless compatibility, or 2Bliss in Specialized speak.

Tubeless installation is straightforward. I tested them on two different wheelsets, a 3T aluminium set and a flash Specialized Roval CLX 32 carbon set (review coming soon) to see if they played nicely. They did; tubeless setup was a breeze. I used a Lezyne tubeless track pump and a glug of sealant and the tyres popped up nicely at the first attempt. Air retention has been good, losing only a bit over several weeks, nothing out of the ordinary.

Tyre pressure is important, especially with wider tyres. I'd suggest experimenting and definitely investing in a digital pressure gauge. I use a Topeak digital gauge all the time, it removes the guesswork and lets you make changes and record them for future reference. I found about 40-45psi for mainly road and hard trail riding worked well for my body weight (64kg); any higher and they tended to feel a bit bouncy and reluctant to deform over bumps. For off-road riding I was happy to go down to 30psi with no drawback at all, allowing the tyre to deform and offer up plenty of grip and vibration absorption. Specialized recommends a 35-60psi range.

These low pressures might surprise you, but even on the road they feel good. The tyres don't feel slow or draggy at all, but instead roll along really nicely with plenty of zip. I certainly noticed no huge impact on my general riding speeds. The tyre carcass is able to deform over bumps and imperfections. They feel compliant on rough roads.

Why are 650B tyres hot right now? You can get a bigger volume tyre into the same space as a smaller volume 700C tyre, so more air to cushion you on rough roads and trails.

> What is 650B?

Testing the Sawtooth 650Bs against a range of 700C tyres, from 30 to 40mm, there doesn't seem to be a huge trade-off in rolling resistance at a range of speeds; the 650Bs seem to get up to speed more quickly than the 700Cs, but don't have the same rolling speed at higher cruising rates. Take them off-road, though, and the benefits are clearer. A bigger cushion between you and the ground and the smaller wheel feels a bit more nimble and agile through twisty tree-lined trails, making it easier to chuck the bike through the turns and widen that smile.

For riding over a mixture of terrain these tyres work really well. I've encountered everything from rough gravel tracks to muddy byways, pothole-strewn country lanes mainly used by local farmers and covered in mud (and probably lots of cow poo) and proper singletrack in my local woods. If there's a weakness it's in really muddy conditions, but then that's beyond the design brief of the tread design, so perhaps a bit of an unfair criticism.

Probably the main rival to the Sawtooth tyres, which road.cc has tested anyway, are the Schwalbe G-One Speeds, now available in a 650B size. I haven't tested them, but Dave Atkinson has and he absolutely loved them.

> Buyer's Guide: 16 of the best gravel and adventure tyres

I would hazard a guess that the Schwalbe tyres are a better bet for mainly road riding, but if you want to go more off-road then the more aggressive tread pattern of the Sawtooth tyres will give them the edge. The Sawtooths are also significantly cheaper, which could be the decider.

Verdict

Fast and comfortable tyres that shine on mixed terrain rides, with loads of grip and good durability